Report on the development of an XRF set-up with X-ray tube excitation

Complete text of publication follows. Ion beam analytical (IBA) laboratories have the potential to analyse materials with various IBA methods in order to determine their bulk composition or lateral and/or depth distribution of elements. However, the establishment of some complementary analytical techniques, especially X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), seems to be essential and has become a common practice in many laboratories. The aim of this paper is to report about the realization of an XRF setup which is based on nuclear instruments generally available in all IBA laboratories, such as: X-ray detector, signal processor, ADC or MCA, data acquisition software, XYZ-stage, etc. For excitation, a medium power X-ray tube was purchased. Our aim has been to design a flexible system applicable for the analysis of wide spectrum of samples. The main features of the XRF set-up are as follows: - Excitation: Oxford Instruments XTF6000BR X-ray tube; target: Rh; Be window: 125 μm; focal spot size: 80 μm; cone angle: 20 degrees; high voltage power supply: 60 kV; 1 mA (60 W). - Experimental arrangements: Direct excitation; Optionally secondary targets; - Detector port to horizontal arrangement Si(Li) X-ray detectors equipped with Oxford Microbeams Ltd.-type interface. - Construction: Primary radiation collimated to ∼5 mm; Provision for low background measurements; Vacuumable system; 15-position (manual) sample changer; XYZ-stage for tiny samples; - Analytical: Major and trace elements from Na; Detection Limit down to ∼1 μg/g; Quantification e.g. by AXIL. The setup has been successfully used for the analysis of archaeological bronze metals, soil and sediment samples. Analytical results will be presented elsewhere.